Aaron Kosminski, a Jack the Ripper suspect, died 100 years ago this year.
You won't find me arguing too strongly against Kosminski's candidature as the Whitechapel Murderer despite my own book, The Inevitable Jack the Ripper (2018), coming to the conclusion that the person most likely to have been (or at the very least perpetuated the notion of) Jack the Ripper was Walter Sickert.
In fact I kept a fairly open mind in my book on the likelihood of Kosminski being 'Jack'. I included the account of ex-Flying Squad detective, the late DCI Peter West - a family friend - who had privileged access to the Met Police's 'Black Library' and was himself convinced Kosminski was the Ripper.
Where I do take issue with recent (and identical claims made five years ago) is over the 'proof' of Kosminski being the Ripper gained by a garment, described as a shawl, which is alleged to feature his and Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes' DNA. This is absolute nonsense.
As fellow Ripper author and former detective Trevor Marriott told me five years ago: "The provenance of the shawl is questionable, as are the DNA results, which are not primary they are secondary, which means that the DNA profiles obtained could match those of 400,000 in 1888."
Mr Marriott also says the garment is believed to be Edwardian, rather than Victorian and is hardly a "shawl" at eight feet in length.
It has also been subject to more than a century of contamination and does not feature anywhere in the official police sketch of the discovery of Eddowes' body.
The sketch is believed to be extremely accurate and does not flinch from including detail.
The only DNA in relation to the garment in the sketch was that it Did Not Appear.
A century after his death Aaron Kosminski remains a strong suspect in the enduring Jack the Ripper mystery - and that has nothing to do with the supposed DNA evidence.
Find out more about Kosminski and essential new evidence relating to other suspects in The Inevitable Jack the Ripper - out now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1724586793/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_api_i_Qq3LCbVS1GPAV
Also just released is my blueprint on how California law enforcement can solve the Zodiac murders using letters alleged to have been written by Jack the Ripper. Zodiac the Ripper is out now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1797659863/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_mS3LCbQHVNMMW
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